By this I mean some sort of media IP, but one that isn't privately owned. How could an IP like this be managed, including characters, lore, etc?
Sort of related, but Pulgasari is rad as fuck and it would be cool to turn it into some kind of shared project. Maybe a dumb idea, but I just think it would be neat.
A fun historical example that predates our current views on copyright is the Arthurian Canon. There are settings, characters and deeds that are recurrent, or necessary to understand the "franchise" so-to-speak, but other than that sometimes it goes to weird, fanfictiony places, and sometimes additions to the existing canon catch on and become part of it.
Thinking about it, a lot of folklore is like that, too: collectively owned, in constant motion, but keeping key elements so that it is still recognizable, and compelling.
Don't know if this is helpful, but I wanted to share.